Outlook: Bears suffered a big loss in distance standout Brett Kelly, the two-time PAC-10 cross country champion, now running at Princeton University. But they have some good young talent with a lot of potential. “Very young team that is depending on a few junior and seniors as leaders,” Zellers said. “Eighty percent-plus consists of freshmen and sophomores. Who will step up is the big question. It is going to be up to an experienced group of coaches to pull this group together into a team. Ethan Shalaway is a returning state javelin thrower, Josh Ward had a great winter season in the shot put. Eli Mercado has stepped up in the 800 during the winter season, and Dylan Eddinger was a national qualifier in the 400 as a freshman. I am anxious and excited to hit the track and field with a great group of kids.”

Outlook: The Blazers have some excellent talent, including one of area’s best distance runners in Sankey. Plus several of Blazers best basketball players. They did lose some key members, but still have agood core. “The 2013 Blazer boys track team is not lacking talent, just experience,” Keith said. “A very young team with only eight seniors on the roster and over 25 new guys out for track. The coaching staff is very excited to see what this young boys team can accomplish after two straight seasons of top three finishes at the Berks County Championship Meet.

Hill SchoolHead coach: Bill Yinger, 10th year

Last year’s record: 2-1 in duals, third in MAPL, third in Prep State Meet (Hill competes mostly in invitationals in regular season).

Outlook: Pottstown native Cherneskie, former Pius and PJP football and track standout, is a valuable addition with a post-grad year. Smith, also Hill’s starting quarterback, is an excellent long jumper. Last season’s Blues distance standout Quinn Davis graduated, but they still have good distance talent on the team. “This year both teams, boys and girls, have a strange dynamic of having a big group of seniors and a big group of freshmen,” Yinger said. “There’s not much in between. We are expecting good things of the younger group but are also within reason riding the successes of the past from our older kids. We should compete on the boys side if we stay healthy, with huge depth in the distances over 800. The field should be stronger than last year so we might sneak up on some people. I am hopeful for top three in the league. I think if the boys have a great day, we could be top five in the prep state.”

Outlook: The Warriors lost some good athletes in Ryan Clee, Nick Delaney, Scott McFarlin, James Rees, Anthony Schulz and Evan Hammond. But they do have plenty of talent remaining, including reigning PAC-10 cross country champ Watro, who prefers the mile, and a number of good distance runners led by Hopkins and Schulz. They also added a number of talented freshmen and football standout Bossard. The Warriors lost only one dual meet last season to league champ Spring-Ford, finishing second in the PAC-10. “Eighteen seniors graduated from last year’s team and it could be difficult for the Warriors to match up with some of their PAC-10 opponents,” Constable said. “State qualifier Scott McFarlin contributed a lot of team points in 2012. His performances will be difficult to duplicate. We’ll be counting on Kevin Kennedy and Mike Cassidy to lead in their events. Curtis Watro and Pat Hopkins will help to lead our distance crews. Our young sprinters are working well together and appear ready to contribute on the varsity level. Senior football standout Brandon Bossard, a first year track participant, has been a key contributor with his sprinting and leadership. Sophomore transfer Trevor Chew has the potential to be a top sprinter if he can recover from some indoor and early season injuries. District qualifier Stephen Fiorentino and promising middle distance runner Matthew Schulz have also been sidelined with injuries.”

Outlook: After being a dominant force in the PAC-10 for several seasons, then losing a lot of talent to graduation, the Wildcats are still in a bit of a rebuilding mode. “We have been very pleased with the team’s work ethic for the first two weeks,” Wentzel said. “This is a great group of young men who listen and are very coachable. We are very inexperienced in a lot of events and are not sure how well they can do in a very tough league. There is no doubt this team will come to compete every day and that is all we can ask.”

Outlook: Heimbach has been the league’s premier hurdler for the past two seasons and is defending champion in the 110 and 300 hurdles. Unlikely he will vacate that spot his senior year. Vikings have always been strong in the distances and will be again be this year led by Garton, Gibbons and Hodgins, who is also one of the Vikings top swimmers. Might not have the deep numbers to win league as a team, but always have the individual contenders. Did lose some excellent talent in sprinter Daquan Coker and Ezra Ranco in throws. “The team looks forward to another great season and to build on their strong finish at the PAC-10 championship meet last season,” Petsko said. “This year they will rely on the veteran leadership of last year’s 110 hurdler state qualifier Ryan Heimbach, senior distance runner Kevin Gibbons and junior thrower Thomas Jaworski.”

Outlook: The Phantoms are deep in numbers again and well-balanced this season. Also picked up a couple of standout basketball players in Howell and Lindsay along with football standout Bozzelli, who want to give sprinting and jumping a try in their senior year. Chiappetta was their top distance runner in cross country last fall. Timmins, like older brother Tommy, is an excellent hurdler. Medina is a three-sport standout. Looks like Phantoms have all the bases covered. “We’re back into the fifties, so our numbers have gone up,” Kraynak said. “Numbers were down for a couple of years, but they are starting to creep back up. A lot of inexperience, but a lot of young kids to build for the future. We hope to be competitive again this year. Maybe not where we were a few years ago, but certainly competitive.”

Pope John Paul IIHead coach: Ed Dobry, third year (35 years at St. Pius X)

Outlook: The Panthers are much deeper in numbers this season and in every event. Did lose some good talent in Mike Bryson, Johnnie Cherneskie, Jacob Gribb, Shane McEachern, Tom McKeon, Kene Otti and Derek Sein Lwin, but should be able to make up for those losses. The younger Cherneskie, Kirk (a three-event thrower), should be able to fill hole for big brother Johnnie well. “The 2013 boys track team at Pope John Paul II has over 70 athletes participating in the sport,” Dobry said. “A great start for the season.”

Outlook: The Falcons moved up several notches in the standings last season. They also won their first ever cross country state title (AA) last fall and have a lot of those reigning cross country state champions on the track team now, which should add even more energy and spring in their steps. “The team looks solid this year,” Rechtin said. “Our sprints and horizontal jumps are strong and we have a good distance core returning. But there are several areas where we will need develop if we are going to compete with the top teams in the league. We have a lot of new athletes and the poor weather has made it challenging to get them up to competition levels for the early season duals. We will get better as the season progresses that is for sure.”

Outlook: Pottstown may be one of the smallest schools in the PAC-10, but veteran boys track coach Mary Ann Hill knows how to get the athletes out. Last fall Hill also stepped in volunteering, along with Mark Agnew, to run the Trojans cross country program, which is no longer funded by the district. With Hill and Agnew keeping the program alive, it kept the mid-distance and distance runners on board, along with distance standout Smith rallying the cross country runners to come out and run. This spring Pottstown has its deepest boys track team ever. They did suffer some key losses, including three-event standout Corey Baker, high jump league-winner Misohn Coppock, distance runners Travis Garner and Frank Scaltrito and pole vault standout Olatunde Oladipo. But the deep numbers should help fill those holes. “Pottstown is entering 2013 with the largest group of athletes ever participating with 70 boys,” Hill said. “Most of the athletes are new to the team, so learning the ropes has been a hurdle especially with the cold weather. We did have 16 graduating seniors last year who were incredibly talented. We are wishing all of the local teams good luck and warmer weather.”

Outlook: After winning their first boys PAC-10 championship two years ago, the Rams made it two in a row last season. They did lose some of their best talent to graduation, including Andrew Scanlan, Mike Novarina, Nick Ondo, Joe O’Such, Jesse Magolon, Rocco Ianetta and Xavier Ingram. “It will be difficult to replace those top point earners from last year’s championship team,” DeAngelo said. “Not only will their performances be missed, but also the valued leadership they each provided for four years. We have a large group of boys, many being freshmen. Many have not participated in winter track so we’re in the process of time trials to see where each athlete fits. Our goals are to qualify as many athletes as possible for PAC-10, repeat as PAC-10 champs and to have fun through achievement.”

Outlook: The Indians lost the area’s best sprinter in Ronnie Gillestpie, also a state medalist, to graduation. Also gone are their top hurdlers, including one of the league’s best, Erich Keyser. The Tribe are not very deep this season, but do have some talented individuals. “The numbers are not great,” Wright said. “We will be strong in the sprints. The kids are working hard and looking to improve from the first meet to the last one. The coaching staff will try to put our kids in the best position to win, but we are not too concerned about team wins or loses. We will be looking to build the program to be strong in the coming years.”